Delta Dawn

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"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey, and recorded by a number of artists, most notably Bette Midler, Helen Reddy, Tanya Tucker and Waylon Jennings.

Tucker's version went to #6 on the country music chart, and Reddy's topped both the pop and adult contemporary charts. Included on Tucker's first album, the song was released as a single, and it became the 13-year-old's first hit. Reddy cut the song shortly after Tucker's version became a hit, and her version became the seventh-highest selling single for the year 1973 on the pop charts, hitting number one on the week ending September 15. It borrows, in large part, the melody from "Amazing Grace."

Song background

The song is about a woman from Brownsville, Tennessee who earned the nickname "Delta Dawn" in her youth for her unmatched beauty and grace. After being spurned by a deceptive suitor, she lost her splendor and became mentally ill, and now spends her days waiting for the return of her lost love. Although the song has a Southern gospel feel (as evidenced by the song's introduction by a choir, as well as the lyrics providing the setting of the song in the Deep South), Reddy is from Australia, and trained her voice accordingly to mask her accent.

Barbra Streisand was originally to have recorded the song and a backing track was recorded, but upon hearing it, Streisand did not like the tune and refused to provide vocals. It was at this time that Reddy was approached to provide vocals for the already recorded backing track. Following the success of her widely popular 1972 single, "I Am Woman", Reddy's version of "Delta Dawn" sold over a million copies upon its first release. The tune has been popular across college campuses in the Southeastern United States since the late 1980's, as New Orleans based cowpunk band Dash Rip Rock has made it one of their signature live tunes. The song has also been released on the Dash Rip Rock album Boiled Alive.

Bette Midler has long been associated with "Delta Dawn," having included it on one of her early albums. She heard the song in Nashville, memorized it, and performed it three times on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." She actually attempted to release her version as a single, but as luck would have it, Reddy's version was released a mere two days before, and most radio stations ended up preferring Reddy's recording; Midler's version of the song was then moved to the B-side of her single, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

Cover versions

In addition to Tucker, Reddy, and Midler, "Delta Dawn" was also covered by The Statler Brothers, Teresa Brewer, and in more recent years, by the punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, on their album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah. Juan García Esquivel performed a version in his Las Vegas act, with Yvonne Debourbon providing vocals. One of their renditions can be heard on the 2005 Bar/None release The Sights and Sounds of Esquivel. It was also briefly performed by Stone Cold Steve Austin on an episode of Monday Night RAW. It was sung by Friends character Monica Geller in an episode set in a piano bar.

Succession

See also

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1973 (USA)